BRINGING BLOGGING BACK.
I'll give a month by month summary of my life since May, leaving out key details for the sake of privacy.
June - KJS got married. Her wedding was awesome. Got to hang out in South Beach with old friends. Gave up coffee at the end of the month and went through serious withdrawal.
July - Another year older. WHOO. Visited home mid-month; had an above average trip on the Bolt Bus (read old posts to understand part of the reason why I need to mention this - I'm just being fair and balanced in my representation of people I've met on public transportation).
August - It was ridiculously hot. I didn't have air conditioning in my apartment (it's kind of complicated, but we never had it at home growing up, so I didn't think to get it in my studio until it was too late, and then I didn't bother). As a result, I sat in front of my little fan, ate boyo or Cafe Podima frozen yogurt for dinner an inordinate number of times, and watched way too much NCIS. Oh, and sometimes I would go into work early just to enjoy the AC.
September - Moved into a new apartment with J. It's been fun so far (I hope J agrees). Federer lost in the US Open Final; I was crushed. It's ok, I'm over it now but it was a pretty rough week. My little brother turned 21, and started his senior year of college. Yikes.
October - How is it already October? I'm writing this in Italy but probably won't post until I return to the States. This brings me to the real points I'd like to make in this post...the top five things I've enjoyed in Tuscany (in no particular order because I'm bad at structuring my thoughts)
1. Il David. Everyone is OBSESSED with il David in Florence. DW even got little David statues to bring home as gifts for her coworkers (apparently they want tiny naked men to adorn their desks?). My coworkers are getting postcards. I care about them just as much, I promise! It was really an awe-inspiring sculpture, though, and it was probably my favorite piece of art from this week. That's saying something too, since we saw a lot of art!
2. Siena - Everything about this city is wonderful. I was particularly impressed with the Piazza del Campo, which you would probably recognize from the opening scene of Quantum of Solace (Daniel Craig's first Bond movie - I'm hoping you knew that). It is the piazza where they have the horse race, which gets interrupted by a violent chase (a standard part of the James Bond formula). Random fact - In an effort to preserve my GPA senior year, I took an enlightening class in the Film Studies department called "Bond and Beyond" which was a 10A. We'd watch a James Bond move each Tuesday and Thursday morning and then talk about it. Kind of awesome. Fortunately, we didn't make it to the Pierce Brosnan ones. I say "fortunately" since I can't stand him in the role. He's great in Remington Steele (yet another underappreciated TV show that I'll have to write about in another post), but he just isn't convincing as James Bond. Feel free to disagree, but remember that I'm the one with this class on my college transcript. Anyway, Siena was really beautiful, and I enjoyed just wandering the streets for the afternoon.
3. Chianti - We drank this every day. Sometimes twice. I have to admit I've never liked red wine before (instead opting for pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc), but now I'm a convert. Not much else to say other than that one of my favorite parts of the trip was lunch at the peak of Poggio Scali, which took nearly two hours to reach on foot. We enjoyed pecorino, fresh bread, prosciutto, and chianti from a local grocer. The view wasn't bad either.
4. Gelato - I ate gelato 4 out of the 5 days of the trip, and I have the photographic evidence to prove it. Nocciola is by far the best flavor, but pistachio was a close second in my book. That being said, about half the flavors were chocolate so I can't really speak objectively about this. I was very tempted to try Nutella, but 10 years is a long time and I didn't want to break my streak without careful consideration (especially for a product that I can buy in the States). I think I might be ready to eat chocolate soon though - just saying. Speaking of which, I did drink espresso this week, after not drinking coffee of any kind since the end of June. The withdrawal was painful enough to keep me away from it for a few months, but seriously, WHAT WAS I THINKING! Worst decision ever. I am going to try to incorporate a moderate amount of coffee into my life at home. This is going to be tough since I don't do so well with moderation, but I think I can handle it. I just miss having coffee in my life. Those cozy mornings doing the crossword just aren't the same with a cup of tea.
5. DW has a really awesome story that I'm not sure she wants published on this blog. Need to get clearance first to share the details, but it really was an integral part of our trip here. The reason I can't just write down all the facts is because it concerns another individual who is quite famous in certain circles and might not want to be named on my little blog. He has a stalker or two (seriously), and I wouldn't want to contribute to any personal stress. Oh, and he is on a date with DW in Paris right now. Pas mal, DW, pas mal...
